Early childhood education and care
John PESUTTO (Hawthorn) (09:57): Last week I met with Hawthorn West sessional kindergarten, and I thank Jess, Tess, Hillary and Meredith for their time. The Best Start, Best Life program, which the government introduced a few years ago, was intended to provide free kinder. It is a very important program and one we certainly support, but it is having some unintended consequences for part of the sector. For sessional kinders the risk they face and the challenges they are trying to overcome involve maintaining programs and building programs with increasing demand but being unable to meet that because of the restrictions around the way they are funded. The Hawthorn West sessional kinder that I visited last week is only one of a number in my electorate, and they have asked me on their behalf to raise with the government – and I am doing so now – whether there can be more flexibility in the way the government applies the program. Sessional kinder is not just a few hours of care, sessional kinder is a crucial part of the early education of children in our community. I urge the Allan Labor government to listen to the sessional kinder sector and understand their concerns. One of the most important things they provide, in addition to important early education, is choice for families, and I hope the government will heed this message.